Cops nab 7 suspects in Apple Store robbery crime wave

A frame of CCTV footage showing one of the recent robberies. Screenshot: CBS New York/Apple

Seven suspects have been arrested in connection to the spate of Apple Store thefts taking place across the Bay Area. Multiple law enforcement agencies cooperated to crack an organized crime ring targeting Apple Stores throughout the region.

The Oakland Police Department said that it, “assisted another law enforcement agency by arresting multiple individuals wanted on criminal warrants.” These arrests, it continued, were, “in connection to large-scale crimes that were committed throughout the state of California.”

Oakland police said the California Department of Justice will soon provide more information about the arrests and their associated offenses.

The recent Apple Store crime wave

The spate of Apple Store thefts in California have ramped up in the past several months. Most of them have followed very similar lines: with a gang of men entering the stores, grabbing as many display devices as they can, and then running out. In most cases they have escaped in waiting getaway vehicles.

Locations targeted have included Apple Stores in Emeryville, Santa Rosa, Marin County, and Fresno. Earlier today, we wrote about the Palo Alto Apple Store, which was robbed twice over the course of the weekend. An Apple Store in Roseville Galleria mall was meanwhile robbed four times in 20 days — including twice in less than 24 hours.

Recently, mall security in California’s Santa Rosa Plaza shopping center were able to detain one of the thieves as they tried to flee the Apple Store. It’s not clear whether his arrest had anything to do with police rumbling the gang behind the other robberies. Also unclear is how many of the robberies were the result of one gang working in a coordinated manner, although it seems likely.